Kalen DeBoer: Alabama’s ability to ‘punch back harder’ was key to beating Georgia
Published:
Kalen DeBoer couldn’t have been more pleased with his team in the aftermath of Saturday night’s massive SEC road conquest of Georgia, which had won 33 games in a row in Athens.
That streak is no more thanks to an Alabama team that has shaken off a season-opening nightmare loss at Florida State and has now won 3 in a row. But it was one thing to blow out Louisiana-Monroe and Wisconsin. It was another thing to go Between the Hedges and take down one of its most bitter rivals in a Week 5 primetime clash.
Alabama won its SEC opener in thrilling fashion, holding the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter where Georgia had chances to tie the game or take the lead. Instead, the Crimson Tide defense held down the fort in those huge, frantic moments with the Alabama offense failing to even score a point in the second half of the 24-21 victory.
Back to DeBoer, who has taken his share of criticism since taking over for Nick Saban last season. On Saturday night, it was time for the head coach to shower his players with some hard-earned praise.
“It’s a mind-set going in. Especially against a team like this, you’re going to get punches thrown at you,” Kalen DeBoer said. “It’s what your response is going to be. Our response was to punch back and punch back harder.”
DeBoer loved the resolve his team showed and the fire it played with in hostile territory.
“There was an attitude, an energy that our guys had,” DeBoer said. “There’s going to be no regrets when you walk off that football field because we gave it everything we had.”
DeBoer’s team controlled the clock, possessing the ball for over 35 minutes, and for the fourth straight game to open the season it did not have a single turnover. Those are 2 ways to get it done on the road against one of the best teams in the country, and Alabama did both in finding a way to end that Georgia home winning streak.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
